Scotland

1-2 October

Metropolis (Dir. Fritz Lang, 1927) (Screening format –DCP, 149 mins ) Made in Germany during the Weimar period, Metropolis is set in a futuristic urban dystopia and follows the attempts of Freder (Gustav Frohlich), the wealthy son of the city’s ruler, and Maria (Brigitte Helm), a poor worker, to overcome the vast gulf separating the classes of their city. Filming took place in 1925 at a cost of approximately five million Reichmarks, making it the most expensive film ever released up to that point. It is regarded as a pioneering work of science fiction and is among the most influential films of all time. Following its world premiere in 1927, half an hour was cut from Fritz Lang’s masterpiece and lost to the world. Eighty years later a spectacular discovery was made when the footage was found in a small, dusty museum in Buenos Aires. The film was then painstakingly reconstructed and digitally restored so that at last audiences could see the iconic futuristic fairy tale as Lang had envisioned it. Find out more atsilentfilm.org . With recorded soundtrack. Vue, Edinburgh OmniLink

6 October

Bacon Grabbers (Dir. Lewis R Foster, US, 1929) + Do Detectives Think (Dir. Fred Guiol, US, 1927) + The Second Hundred Years (Dir. Fred Guiol, US, 1927) + Liberty (Dir. Leo McCarey, US, 1929) (Screening format – not known, 20/19/20/20 mins).In Bacon Grabbers, repossession men Laurel and Hardy serve a summons to Mr. Kennedy, who has failed to pay the installments for his radio since 1921. But he’s not willing to give up his radio without a fight… In Do Detectives Think when an escaped convict vows revenge on the judge who sentenced him, the judge engages a detective agency which sends its two best men, Laurel and Hardy, to protect him! The Second Hundred Years sees convicts Laurel and Hardy making ever more desperate and laughable efforts to escape prison. Liberty sees Laurel and Hardy making a successful prison break but mixed up trousers and an escaped crab somehow leads them to the top a partially completed skyscraper! Find out more atlaurel-and-hardy.com . With live piano accompaniment by Forrester Pyke.Festival Theatre, EdinburghLink

7 October

By the Law (Po Zakonu) (Dir . Lev Kuleshov, 1926) (Screening format – not known, 80mins ) Legendary director Lev Kuleshov adapted a short story by Jack London, fashioning a tense, existential study of moral pressure…in effect a pared-back Soviet Western. Three gold prospectors are holed up in a cabin – one driven to murder by greed, the other two wrestling with whether to wait for the snow and ice to thaw and go for the authorities or to take the Law into their own hands. The stage is set for a claustrophobic drama of raw power, combining naturalism and the grotesque, realism and melodrama… Find out more atsilentsaregolden.com . With live musical accompaniment by multi-award-winning Scottish musician, singer and song-writer R.M. Hubbert (aka Hubby) performing his brand new guitar score, commissioned by the Hippodrome Silent Film Festival. Platform, Glasgow Link

Metropolis (Dir. Fritz Lang, 1927) (Screening format –DVD/BluRay, Jan ’05 pre-restored version, 118mins) Made in Germany during the Weimar period, Metropolis is set in a futuristic urban dystopia and follows the attempts of Freder (Gustav Frohlich), the wealthy son of the city’s ruler, and Maria (Brigitte Helm), a poor worker, to overcome the vast gulf separating the classes of their city. Filming took place in 1925 at a cost of approximately five million Reichmarks, making it the most expensive film ever released up to that point. It is regarded as a pioneering work of science fiction and is among the most influential films of all time. Find out more atsilentfilm.org With live piano accompaniment by Dmytro Morykit. Royal Conservatoire of Music, GlasgowLink

18 October

One A.M. (Dir. Charles Chaplin, US, 1916) + I Do (Dir. Hal Roach, US, 1921) + The High Sign (Dir. Edward F Cline/Buster Keaton, US, 1921) (Screening format – not known, 34/26/21 mins) In One A.M., Charlie Chaplin is the drunken homeowner having a difficult time getting in to his own home after arriving back late at night. I Do sees a young married couple (Harold Lloyd and Mildred Davis) finding out just how difficult it is to look after a friend’s kids for the day. Find out more atwikipedia.org . In The High Sign, Buster Keaton plays a drifter who gets a job in a amusement park shooting gallery. Believing Buster is an expert marksman, both the murderous gang the Blinking Buzzards and the man they want to kill end up hiring him. The film ends with a wild chase through a house filled with secret passages. Find out more atsensesofcinema.com . With live musical accompaniment by the theatre’s in-house light orchestra, Gladstone’s bag! Britannia Panoptican Music Hall, Glasgow Link

19 October

By the Law (Po Zakonu) (Dir . Lev Kuleshov, 1926) (Screening format – not known, 80mins ) Legendary director Lev Kuleshov adapted a short story by Jack London, fashioning a tense, existential study of moral pressure…in effect a pared-back Soviet Western. Three gold prospectors are holed up in a cabin – one driven to murder by greed, the other two wrestling with whether to wait for the snow and ice to thaw and go for the authorities or to take the Law into their own hands. The stage is set for a claustrophobic drama of raw power, combining naturalism and the grotesque, realism and melodrama… Find out more atsilentsaregolden.com . With live musical accompaniment by multi-award-winning Scottish musician, singer and song-writer R.M. Hubbert (aka Hubby) performing his brand new guitar score, commissioned by the Hippodrome Silent Film Festival. Mareel, Lerwick, ShetlandLink

21 October

By the Law (Po Zakonu) (Dir . Lev Kuleshov, 1926) (Screening format – not known, 80mins ) Legendary director Lev Kuleshov adapted a short story by Jack London, fashioning a tense, existential study of moral pressure…in effect a pared-back Soviet Western. Three gold prospectors are holed up in a cabin – one driven to murder by greed, the other two wrestling with whether to wait for the snow and ice to thaw and go for the authorities or to take the Law into their own hands. The stage is set for a claustrophobic drama of raw power, combining naturalism and the grotesque, realism and melodrama… Find out more atsilentsaregolden.com . With live musical accompaniment by multi-award-winning Scottish musician, singer and song-writer R.M. Hubbert (aka Hubby) performing his brand new guitar score, commissioned by the Hippodrome Silent Film Festival. Stromness Town Hall, Orkney Link

Safety Last (Dir. Fred C Newmeyer/Sam Taylor, US, 1923) (Screening format – not known, 73mins) A boy (Harold Lloyd) moves to New York City to make enough money to support his loving girlfriend (Mildred Davis), but soon discovers that making it in the big city is harder than it looks. When he hears that a store manager will pay $1,000 to anyone who can draw people to his store, he convinces his friend, the “human fly,” (Bill Strother) to climb the building and split the profit with him. But when his pal gets in trouble with the law, he must complete the crazy stunt on his own. The image of Harold Lloyd hanging desperately from the hands of a skyscraper clock during Safety Last! is one of the great icons of film history (although it was achieved with a certain amount of film trickery) and this remains one of the best and best loved comedies of the silent era. Find out more atrogerebert.com. With live musical accompaniment from Mike Nolan. Hippodrome Cinema, Bo’Ness, Scotland Link

28 October

Sunrise; A Song of Two Humans (Dir. F W Murnau, US, 1927) (Screening format – 35mm, 94mins) F W Murnau’s debut American film, made at the technical zenith of the silent era but already heralding the arrival of the talkies being one of the first silents made with synchronized musical score and sound effects soundtrack. The simple story of a husband’s betrayal of his wife with a treacherous city girl, Sunrise moves from a fairytale-like depiction of rural life to a dynamic portrait of the bustling modern American city. Explored in elaborate tracking shots by Charles Rocher and Karl Struss’s pioneering camerawork, the city set was one of the most costly yet produced. The result was a commercial flop, though the achievement did not go unheralded: Sunrise was awarded a special Oscar for unique and artistic production at the first ever Academy Awards and Janet Gaynor won the first Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance. The film’s legacy has endured, and it is now widely considered a masterpiece with many calling it the greatest film of the silent era. Find out more attheguardian.com . With a live accompaniment of Graham Stephen’s acclaimed score (winner of the Scottish Jazz Awards’ Innovation prize 2012). Hippodrome Cinema, Bo’Ness, Scotland Link

One A.M. (Dir. Charles Chaplin, US, 1916) + I Do (Dir. Hal Roach, US, 1921) + The High Sign (Dir. Edward F Cline/Buster Keaton, US, 1921) (Screening format – not known, 34/26/21 mins) In One A.M., Charlie Chaplin is the drunken homeowner having a difficult time getting in to his own home after arriving back late at night. I Do sees a young married couple (Harold Lloyd and Mildred Davis) finding out just how difficult it is to look after a friend’s kids for the day. Find out more atwikipedia.org . In The High Sign, Buster Keaton plays a drifter who gets a job in a amusement park shooting gallery. Believing Buster is an expert marksman, both the murderous gang the Blinking Buzzards and the man they want to kill end up hiring him. The film ends with a wild chase through a house filled with secret passages. Find out more atsensesofcinema.com . With live musical accompaniment by the theatre’s in-house light orchestra, Gladstone’s bag! Britannia Panoptican Music Hall, Glasgow Link

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